Cool and Unusual
Paramount Style L Tenor Guitar ca. 1931
What was Wm. Lange (manufacturer of the high quality Orpheum and Paramount banjo lines) thinking when in 1930 he ordered approximately 35 “Style L” guitars from C.F. Martin? With a bizarre double body design reminiscent of the resonator banjo, Lange was hoping to hold onto banjo players who were switching to the guitar in response to rapidly changing musical tastes. Too-little too-late, for the banjo was on the way out and sales were plummeting. Lange was out of business by 1936.
This Paramount Style L is one of 10 or so tenors from that run of 35, and it is made in the typical Martin manner with an Adirondack spruce top and Brazilian rosewood back & sides. Tastefully bound in tortoise celluloid, the secondary back sports multiple round soundholes bordered in tan plastic. Paramount supplied the ornate peghead overlay inlaid in pearl and abalone. The strange three-ply pickguard with two supports bolted into the side is original, as are the massive brass tailpiece and the planetary tuners. There are repaired cracks in the back and sides, as well as professionally splinted cracks in the top. There is some overspray. Included is its truly battered original hardshell case. The sound is pleasant and sweet. Truly a rare and distinctive instrument from the fertile period of fretted instrument innovation. -- $4000 Click for more pics.
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Since 1957, VOX amplifiers have been the sound of James Bond, British Pop, Blues, Country, Punk, Heavy Metal, Jazz… you name it - Vox tube amps are modern musical history. We love them, and they are surprisingly affordable. Come into the shop and plug in to the all-time classic AC30, its little brother the AC15, the small but mighty AC4, or the cool solid-state Pathfinder 15.